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one assents to a proposition that I suppose I never
would have considered seriously in the heat of youth. You
spoke it quite calmly & naturally & I believe few if any
had a thought of difference that
Sir Walter Scott is the greatest man
Scotland has yet produced. Thank you for your kind
messages to my wife. We both return them
with love to Susie & Alice
& the family. Ever yours

Stair A Gillon.

14 CARLTON TERRACE,
EDINBURGH.

11 - xii - 1923.

My dear John,

it is really easier to thank you for
your warm letter of sympathy than it
would have been a month ago. I can
feel the healing hand of time already
at work but I don't think I shall ever
forget the sense of forlornness at
the time & for about a fortnight.
And yet I know that it is natural
inevitable universal & kind that the
aged should escape from the narrow
half-life of the sick room with its discomforts
& the puzzles caused by defective hearing
& memory. There were mercifully many
days - most days - when she could
be really bright & au fait with everything.
She had a slight shock again & in 9
days it was over. We had a great
many interests in common & I owe a
debt of gratitude that can only be repaid by